New Year's Eve 2012

Believe it or not this was the first year that Mike and I 

EVER

went out for New Year's Eve!!

And we had an awesome time with some wonderful friends!!!

We started out at El Toreo!!!

I could have sat there all night!!!

We had to have been the loudest people in the restaurant!!

I have never laughed so hard!!!

Then we went to The Q for karaoke!!

Crissy, Seth and Liz were our brave leaders.....

I definitely wasn't!!  Hahaha!!!

Maybe next time!!!

Seth was pretty awesome!!!....

even if the crowd was...um, boring, would probably be a

good word to describe them!! Ha!!

I love this crazy girl!!!

Awww-wee!!!

Mike and Crissy got the wonderful idea to light sparklers....

inside.....

the building.....

hahaha!!!

 

It was so much fun going out with them!!!

But not every one could hang!!  Lol.

So we were home at 11:30 pm....

but it was a blessing!!

We got to ring in the New Year with Oma!!!

(who stayed with our babes so we could go out!)

A perfect ending to 2012!!!

And beginning of 2013!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE POPPYS!!!!

Kase is 8 months old!!!

Time just seems to be flying by!!!

It's really starting to get more and more harder to watch my 

children grow up.

I just want to bottle these years up so that I can have a dose of them

whenever I need it.

I guess that is another purpose of this blog....

to hold on to these fleeting memories that are here and gone in the blink of an eye.

Kase is 8 months old!!

He is seriously the most happiest baby EVER!!!

I am definitely going to have to start getting more creative 

with the month signs!!!

He was determined to eat it!!!

And his official "Baby's 1st Christmas" photo!!!

Happy 8 months my sweet baby love!!!

Ashleigh

Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was so much fun!!

Honestly, I have really been looking forward to it!!

We had two 1st Christmases in a row!!

Last year was Kaleb's and this year was Kasen's!!!

We started the season off by getting a tree the weekend after

Thanksgiving!!  That's our tradition!!  We love getting it as soon as possible!!

This was both Kaleb and Kasen's first trip to the Christmas Tree Farm!!!

Cousins!!!

So of course we got our tree home and we.....<cough>....I decorated it.

It was kinda a sad little tree this year because I just did not give it as much love as 

he deserved....which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the babes

drove me crazy trying to take everything off of it!!  Kaleb literally fell off the back of the

couch into the atrium trying to pull the ornaments off!!!

Christmas Eve we always do with my parents and my Dad's side of the family!!

It's nice getting together because we really don't get to see each other much

throughout the year. But this year only Adia and I got to go.  Kase was so sick.  So Mike 

stayed home with the boys.

Poor Little Bud.

I'm glad he stayed home and rested though.

Christmas morning was so much fun!!!

We started out by talking about the real reason for Christmas and then

The babes opened their gifts and Mike and I opened ours!!

I love Christmas with children!!!

There is nothing like the joy they have!!

And this year I got my first ornament made by one of the babes!!

They made them at school!!!

I am officially a mom! Hahaha.

Isn't it soooo cute!!!  :)

Then later that morning we went to Oma's house for brunch!!

Another tradition!!!!

We look forward to Christmas mornings with her!!!

Another tradition that we do....

is on Sundays we always go to dinner at Rodeo and then ride around

looking at Christmas lights before heading home!!

Every.Sunday.before.Christmas!! Ha!!

But the kids LOVE it!!!

We are all about repetitive is seems!!!

We are really predictable people yet can be completely spontaneous at the same time!!

It was so wonderful watching my children really enjoy Christmas this year.

I can't believe how much they are growing and understanding so all the time!!

The babes favorite thing about Christmas:

Adia-Jesus' birthday

Kaleb-Christmas lights

Kase-well he tends to love EVERYTHING!! ;)

Merry Christmas from The Poppys!!!!

Adia's First Day of School!!

This long awaited.....dreaded day has finally come.

My oldest starting her first day of school...

preschool that is.

Even though it is preschool, it doesn't make 

it any easier.

I have been with her every since she has been born

with the exception of when she has stayed with grandparents,

family members or friends.

She is my most adventurous in that aspect,

I guess because she is the oldest,

the first grandchild on both sides maybe,

I'm not really sure, but she is always off or 

visiting someone.

Therefore I didn't think this transition would be

too tough for us.

Showing off her new backpack that 

Aunt Audrey bought for her!!!

Of course, during every photo shoot lately

she has to make silly faces!!  Hahaha!!

Happy girl!!!

She loved the first day of school!!

But hated the second day!!

She apparently had a meltdown while she was there.

I think it was just too overwhelming for her little

self to take so much change in all at once.

She actually got in the car and said she wasn't going back 

the next day!!  Hahaha!!

But the third day was great!!

I DID have to bribe her to get out of the

van that morning but no tears so SCORE!!!

Now she looks forward to it!!  

Every time I pick her up she 

says, "Mom, I didn't cry today!!"

As you can see, now we have no problems!! 

Two weeks in and she is loving it!!

I can't believe this time has come

but I will admit that I am enjoying the 

little extra time with my boys in the mornings!!

Ashleigh

Thankful Thanksgiving

It definitely seems like every year we have more and more 

to be thankful for.

I try my best to be thankful for SOMETHING everyday,

not just trying to remember everything all in 30 days of one month out of the year.

But it is easy for life to pull you in fifty million directions all at once and 

to really lose sight of the many blessings that surround us daily,

so it is nice to take Thanksgiving and pay honor to God for all that we 

have to be thankful for!!!

This year I got the babes into it and explained to them about

being thankful for things and Thanksgiving.

(I didn't explain the whole origin of Thanksgiving.  We will probably do that next year.

Mine are just so young right now.  It was enough to get them to sit down for this one craft!!)

We made a Wall of Thanks!!

Children are so simple minded!! 

I love it!!!

Kasen is thankful for Mommy & Daddy, Baby Milk, Dancing,

Kaleb & Adia, Snacks and Blankies.

(It doesn't take much to make him happy!)

Kaleb is thankful for Daddy, Thomas the Train, Color, Bubble Bath and

Popcorn.

Adia is thankful for Kasen and Kaleb, Nonna, Flowers, Mac and Cheese,

Tape, Coloring, Paper, Grass and Underwear.

(Whatever makes you happy!! Ha!! But underwear, really?!)

It was really cute for A and K to tell me what they were thankful for.

Thanksgiving Day we went to my grandparents house.

We are beyond thankful for them.

They love my children so much and it makes my heart so happy

that they are so active in their lives.

This was Kase's 1st Thanksgiving!! 

And he had his first "no baby food" meal!!

What I am most thankful for!!!

My 4 loves!!

After we stuffed ourselves, we went outside to run off

some of the calories we had just consumed!!

I love my grandparent's yard!!

I remember playing in it when I was young.

All the pecan trees, the pine straw that has fallen....

so many memories.

This was definitely an amazing Thanksgiving!!!

So many blessings have been poured out on my life.

We have been through so many trials at times, but they just make 

me realize how important it is to take time and really reflect on what we 

truly have to be thankful for!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ashleigh

Amaze-n-Cane!!

If you are looking for something fun

to do with kiddos during the fall of the year,

I strongly suggest Amaze-n-Cane!!

The babes and I had the awesome opportunity

to tag along with The Megows on this grand

adventure!!!

And we met some new friends as well,

The Cumbesses!!

Heading on in!!

They see me rollin'......

The whole crew minus Crissy, who was taking the picture!!

Cute animals were there so we could feed and pet!!

And a sand pit to play in!!!

 The babies!!!  

 They even had zip-lining!!!

We had some brave babes with us!!!

The ever famous Gangsta' face!!!

I love it!!

I'm gonna whack ya!!

The fearless leaders!!

3 moms + 11 kids = soooo much fun!!

Me and my crew!!!

I sure do love these cute minis!!!

Ashleigh